Sometimes you stumble upon a well-kept wine, which was allowed to mature and display its full character. And such was the case a couple of days ago when we sat at the table with boys from COB doing some wine pairing duties. At a certain point, Patrik brought this wine, and the bottle was quickly popped open. And here it was, Vinakoper‘s Mordi pinot or Pinot noir from the Capris line.

Slovene Istria is known as the region of the sun. Hot, Mediterranean climate, sun gazed slopes, vines planet into the soil of Eocene flysch, marl and sandstone – conditions that are not so ideal for producing this delicate grape. But this wine proved me wrong. Naturally, it was kept well stored, and as you can see from pictures, it left its mark on the label.

After handpicking, grapes are destemmed and crushed. The mash then macerates for up to sixteen days at temperatures up to 29 ° Celsius. Finally, it is racked into 1.000-litre oak barrels with fine lees where it matures for eighteen months, also conducting malolactic fermentation.

This results in an extractive, ruby red coloured pinot noir with garnet texture and fair density.

The bouquet is intense, alluringly ripe. We perceive roasted plums, forest fruit jam, dried tomatoes, cherries in alcohol, as well as chocolate, coffee, mint, eucalyptus, black cardamom, red pepper, leather and light graphite-like smoky note.

A dry wine of pronounced softness, reasonable warmth, yet at the same time showing a ripe freshness and minerality. The tannins are rounded off but still have some life, and above all, it is kept alive by its freshness.

A Pinot noir that has reached its full maturity but still has at least three years of life ahead of it. I suggest you decant it to enjoy it even more, as it needs time to open up fully.

And the best part, a bottle will cost you less than 10 Eur, and you can find it in any of Vinakoper’s stores and other retailers. You should hurry up, though, as I hear that this Pinot noir might soon run out of availability.